Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday announced his support for President-elect Barack Obama's call for Congress to push back the scheduled transition from analog to digital television broadcasting.

Six weeks before the planned transition, the federal Digital Television converter program has run out of funding, possibly leaving as many as 500,000 New Yorkers without an opportunity to obtain the $40 coupon for converter boxes necessary for televisions that are not hooked up to digital cable.

"I am calling on Congress to amend the 2005 law requiring the transition to DTV by February 17, 2009 for as long as it takes consumers to get the information, assistance and coupons they need," Paterson said in a news release. "Since New Yorkers have been forced onto a waiting list for coupons, the federal government cannot ensure that people will have the necessary equipment for a smooth transition unless the implementation of the new system is delayed."

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration estimated last week that out of 7 million households with televisions in New York state, 556,000 of them receive their programming solely over the air and will be affected by the DTV conversion.